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evangilder said:I wouldn't necessarily say the Pacific fleet was "crushed". They certainly did some significant damage, but they didn't get the carriers.
syscom3 said:Lets not forget that while the japanese were busy at Pearl, they were also getting ready to attack the Philipines. Another complete and total debacle.
It was America's good fortune that Gen MacArthur was a genious when it came to figuring out his mistakes in strategy and tactics then recovering to quickly come up with a plan to stop the Japanese (although it wasnt untill he was in Australia that he could do anything about it).
Hunter368 said:....does not take a genious to retake an island when you totally out number and out class and enemy. Like I said I am not a fan of his. There is alot and I mean alot better Generals out there then him.
syscom3 said:Hunter368 said:....does not take a genious to retake an island when you totally out number and out class and enemy. Like I said I am not a fan of his. There is alot and I mean alot better Generals out there then him.
In 1942, he had little support from Washington, except an abundance of promises. It wasnt untill spring of 1943 that he and the Aussies under his command had enough troops and firepower to go on the rampage through New Guinie.
As many faults he had, he still was one of the best Generals to ever wear the stars.
evangilder said:That may be true but all of those things don't mean squat if you have bad tactics or command. If you read about the battle of Iwo Jima, you will see that even with numerical superiority, advanced bombing and better technical equipment, it was a hard slog for the Marines.
Any time you attack an enemy, the defensive forces have the advantage because they have built defensive encasements and fields of fire. It would be unwise to attack a numerically superior force, especially when you are talking about the campaigns of the Pacific.
Hunter368 said:I have read alot of what happened in the Philipines was his fault and instead of takes blame for it like a man, he blamed his commanders under him. It then does not take a genious to retake an island when you totally out number and out class and enemy. Like I said I am not a fan of his. There is alot and I mean alot better Generals out there then him.
Hunter368 said:I agree that he did not have alot of support early on, but when he did retake the island, it was not a stroke of genius, just sheer numbers and better tech (support) on the USA side. That is the hard thing about rating USA Generals, see I cannot think of many times where a USA General was out numbered and his enemy had better tech and still the USA Gereral won. When USA armies win battles most times that I can think of they have outnumbered and/or had much better tech and support. ie attacking a island with 35000 marines when the defender has 65000 men sounds good but if the USA battleships pound away at the enemy for days and planes bomb them around the clock........ well the USA should win that battle. What I am saying is that it is hard to say if a USA General is good or is it the better support and numbers and tech that wins the battles. I would say most times it is the numbers,tech, and support that wins them the battles.
Hunter368 said:Yes attacking a larger force with a smaller would be .... unwise but I still have not heard of alot of battles where the USA was attacked with a enemy with numbers, tech and support all on their side and the USA won. Can you point any or many out where they have won under these conditions?